Sabbatical Introduction
I’m taking a one-year partial sabbatical in 2019 from my professional role as a business leader, principal engineer and sustainability consultant at Brendle Group. As a self-directed learner-doer, I’m driven to use my sabbatical to explore hidden threats to sustainability that I haven’t been able to pursue in my professional life due to daily pace but intuitively know I need to face. I’m seeking a change of geographic scene from my sustainability practice which has focused the last two decades primarily on issues facing the American west, knowing that we need to leave our home to understand it better. I’m seeking deeper-dive learning and hands-on volunteer experiences in pursuit of things that fuel human inspiration and understanding.

Sabbatical Goals
Based on research and personal explorations in 2018, I’ve set three goals for this year:
1. Learn about and work with refugees
2. Help cities prepare for refugees, especially groups experiencing climate-induced migration
3. Share what I learn in a creative art form

Topics of interest
In pursuing these goals, I’m especially interested in the following topic areas:

• Resettlement and rights of climate refugees
• Migration and social justice
• Climate change displacement
• Sustainability in planning and design of resettlement communities
• Personal and community resilience
• Women’s empowerment
• Public art sustainability
• Sustainability and the arts

Biographical Sketch
Judy is a valued collaborator offering 23 years of executive leadership in sustainability, innovation, and entrepreneurship. Her specialties include district-scale and community-scale planning in climate resilience, clean energy, organizational development, and net zero energy and water initiatives. She has led the completion of more than 350 sustainability projects for over 150 clients across 35 states.